The Color Red
by que.t.3.14
Summary: Shinzu Kaoru has always been dealt a bad hand when it comes to life, but she's tried to keep her head up despite it all. She's always striving to do her best and the up and coming Kazekage, Gaara, has been noticing her efforts. Rated M for: language, mild violence, and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

This story is a little woobly with time and age. Gaara is specified as the younger sibling and he's supposed to be about thirteen from what I understand. Those of you who have read my stories know that I prefer to write them a little older than they are. So. That being said, Gaara and my character will be fifteen during this story and it will take place _after_ Gaara's second appearance during the Sasuke retrieval mission. I am not separating it into two stories, because until the war his story is largely separate from Naruto's and there's more leeway for plot line if I'm not linking it to Naruto's development. Hopefully you guys enjoy it.

Feel free to leave comments of any kind because I love them. Good, bad, detailed, even grammar mistakes I don't mind. I want to know what you think, what you want more of, what you don't want more of… all of the above. So please make yourself and your opinions known. I will also say that though I will make edits in the case of comments I do outline my stories completely beforehand so everything is planned, purposeful, and going somewhere so don't worry… I have LOTS planned for all you. I don't ever leave my lovely readers without something to look forward to*winks*

Also I assume you realize but safety first:

**I DO NOT OWN Naruto.**

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Kankuro watched the girl from the corner of his eye. It had been nearly three weeks since the shy creature had begun to follow them around, occasionally looking as though she had finally worked up the courage to speak to them before someone else walked up. You could literally see her confidence deflate as it happened and she would shrink up slightly, hugging a file to her chest and chewing on her lip.

Though she stayed at a pretty good distance and wasn't the type to stand out Kankuro had noticed her the first day because unlike most people she wasn't avoiding looking at Gaara, when she would nervously glance up it was at Gaara that she was staring. Kankuro had noticed this and caught her eye as she looked away from his brother. Her eyes were why he remembered her, because they were a deep red.

The typical, shy little office girl that no one gave a second glance to had the most stunning eyes in Sunagakure.

He also quickly discovered that shy wasn't the right word to describe her. He never once saw her blush, nor did she ever squirm under his leery glances. She just seemed uncomfortable with coming up to them. He figured fear was the motive, and though he understood that he was still annoyed by it. He was tired of people being afraid of his brother when he was obviously trying so hard.

Again Kankuro seemed to be wrong because she never once seemed to jump the way others did around Gaara, him using his sand didn't make her tense up in fear. Her red eyes simply followed the grains of sand as they moved; no fear in her expression only a mild curiousity.

By the end of the first week Kankuro had sort of given up. She didn't appear to be attempting to harm him, and she though she wasn't afraid she definitely wasn't going to be coming up to them to say whatever it was she wanted to say to Gaara.

Three weeks of this and Kankuro was getting a little antsy though. More like, annoyed, very annoyed. She was just standing around, normally between ten and twenty feet away doing… well doing nothing. He wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her to get on with it already.

Perhaps she was some kind of creepy fan girl? He frowned and glanced from her to Gaara. Surely not… He sighed in frustration and Gaara eyed him suspiciously.

"Something wrong?" He asked with his normal monotone voice.

Kankuro shrugged, "Not particularly." He responded simply. Gaara's strange sea foam green eyes watched him for a moment.

"Have you noticed the girl?" Gaara suddenly asked in the same bored tone. "The one in the short black kimono?"

Kankuro quirked an eyebrow, "red eyes would be a better defining feature." He said in response. "I didn't realize you had noticed her."

Gaara crossed his arms, "It's been three weeks; I couldn't have not noticed her."

Kankuro smirked slightly, "Right. Honestly she's been driving me up a wall. She either needs to say what she wants to say or get the fuck out."

Gaara seemed to consider this, "We don't know her name."

Kankuro snorted, "So." He turned to the girl, "Oi!" He yelled out and the girl tensed. She brushed her shoulder length black hair out of her face and made eye contact without any difficulty.

"Yeah, you. Get the fuck over here." He demanded loudly.

She seemed to tense further, and the rest of the hall stopped dead in their tracks. She hesitated for a moment but walked forward, bowing slightly as she came to a stop in front of them.

"Name." Kankuro demanded again.

"Shinzu Kaoru." She responded without flinching at his intense glare and she glanced at Gaara for a moment before looking down and taking a deep breath. "I…"

"You've got something to say I take it." Kankuro again watched the girl's confidence deflate at his interruption. "Well?"

She chewed her lip for a half a second. "I have a case that I feel needs looked at."

"Take it to Mission's Assignment." He replied shortly.

She tensed. "That's where I work, it's been denied."

"Then why are you here?"

She swallowed slightly, staring up at Kankuro's challenge as she considered a reply. She looked at Gaara again and then back at Kankuro. "Technically speaking Gaara is now the head of our department. I wanted to present it to him directly."

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow at this and Kankuro was equally shocked. So it was Gaara she wanted to talk to.

"Why was the case denied?" Gaara now spoke and she turned to him a little surprised.

She took a moment to reply, not really out of fear it seemed but just to observe him. "It's been denied every year for the past thirteen years, people think it's a scam or a hoax."

"Is it?" He asked almost lazily, holding eye contact with her. Kankuro was almost surprised at the balls of the girl to hold Gaara's gaze like that.

"No. It doesn't make any sense to use the same joke every year when no one's listening to it-"

Kankuro snorted again and rolled his eyes. "You've obviously never been to a Christmas party."

Kaoru glanced back at him, something a little desperate playing in her expression. She was really serious about this, just not serious enough to actually get anything done it seemed.

She looked back at Gaara and swallowed again, she opened her mouth to speak and Kankuro interrupted yet again.

"Present it to your superiors again, and quit standing around waiting for someone else to do something about it."

Kankuro turned to leave, not feeling like watching her deflate again.

"No!" He turned in surprise and his brother, though wearing a much more neutral expression, was just as surprised by the outburst his non-existent eyebrows arched up. "I-"

Everyone in the hall was staring at her and she squirmed slightly. "I've turned it into every one of my supervisors, the head of my department has changed twice since my arrival, and I even tried to get permission to take it to the last Kazekage. No one's listening to these people and yet they continue to ask for our help." She looked to Gaara and held out the file, bowing as she did so. "Gaara-sama, it's not a hoax, please take the time to read through my research."

Gaara watched her carefully and took the file from her hands. She kept her head bowed as he thumbed through the pages and scanned the information. Kankuro was waiting with just as much anticipation as Kaoru, wondering what Gaara would do.

When he finally spoke Kaoru tensed as though she expected the file to be thrown back at her. "You will present this tomorrow morning at our meeting."

Kaoru's head flew up, her red eyes wide with surprise. He held the file back out to her and she took it without question before he simply turned and began to walk away. Kankuro was just as shocked as she was and watched Gaara walk away for a moment before going to catch up with him and glancing back at the quiet girl with red eyes.

One side of her mouth had curled up slightly in a tilted smile before she seemed to laugh a little, "Thank you Gaara-sama!" She called down the hall and though Gaara didn't respond Kankuro looked over at his brother to see a small satisfied smirk on his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

Gaara stood in silence, watching the girl flit around the meeting room. Her dark hair flying out of place with each movement she made. Her pale fingers continuously tucked the stray hairs back behind her ear in a nervous fashion and she would chew on her lip as she glanced around the room, now spotting him in the door. Her face lit up into a smile.

"Good morning, Gaara-sama," her smile was totally genuine and it almost startled Gaara. She was smiling directly at him. No one else was around; it was just for him. That was his smile.

Gaara simply nodded in reply, now entering the room and sitting in his chair. He kept his eyes on her though as she bent over a pile of papers for the fourth or fifth time since he had started watching her, again tucking a few stray hairs away.

"You are early." He pointed out simply.

She looked up, her almond shaped red eyes blinking in confused manner. She finally smiled again and nodded. "I wanted to be sure I was prepared. I don't want to mess up this opportunity you've given me."

Gaara nodded slightly in understanding and continued to watch her intently. He actually wasn't very fond of the color red. He wore it as a reminder of the blood shed he caused, and the decision not to let the Shikaku control his life any longer. Every morning as he got dressed the image of Naruto dripping blood and dragging his body forward with determination stuck to his mind. He wanted to have that kind of determination and so he wore red to force himself to remember.

It looked different on her though. Her red eyes were wide, observant, innocent… and even captivating. She had long dark lashes that cast shadows on cheeks when her head was tilted down and framed their natural almond shape. He watched them make scattered movements around the room and finally land on him.

Gaara didn't think anyone had so consistently made eye contact with him, even before Kankuro had called her over to them she had frequently made eye contact with him. There was never any hesitation in her eyes, no lurking terror, just a twinge of nervous and something overly determined. Kaoru honestly didn't seem the least bit afraid of him, "do you have a map in here?" She asked

Gaara nodded and pointed to a bar on the far side of the room, a string dangling from the middle. She flashed him another smile and picked up a little basket of pins before walking over to pull the map into place. However, he quickly noticed that she wasn't tall enough to reach even the string and a faint smirk played on his lips. Without physically moving he trailed his sand to the string and gently tugged the map into place.

Kaoru pulled her hand back in surprise; her red eyes curiously watching the sand go by her. She glanced over her shoulder with a bright smile. "Thanks!"

He nodded and she began to mark the map with little yellow pins and one red. He decided he liked seeing her smile and knowing that it was only for him that she was doing so. Being the only person other person in the room meant that it had to be for him. In fact it was for and _because_ of him, though he didn't think he had particularly done anything that warranted a smile. Perhaps allowing her the opportunity to present her case was enough? He frowned slightly. What if she stopped smiling at him once she presented her case? He made a mental note to think of other things he could do that would make her smile at him.

So far asking questions and doing things for her seemed to get the job done. There was currently nothing out of her reach that she was attempting do so he decided a question was in order.

"Explain the case in better detail." He demanded suddenly.

She turned to him a little curiously, tilted her head to the side a little and Gaara was worried for a moment that he had spoken to harshly. Kaoru's face soon broke into a smile though, "That would be good practice, wouldn't it. I suppose I look a little nervous."

She laughed softly with her fingers hovering next to her lips. He noted that her fingernails were painted the same shade of red as her eyes. "My first month working in Mission Assignment I got this case. A small village called Ito requesting a few guards because of a reoccurring problem around harvest… Apparently there were attacks if anyone was out past sunset and once everyone was frightened enough to stay inside they would wake up the next morning to find half or sometimes more of their crops gone. People said that it was a local God, demanding a sacrifice of either food or blood…" she paused for a moment. "Others said it was a cruel joke and would try and fight off whoever was stealing from them. Those who did so turned up dead, mutilated, the next morning. I found the case disturbing and brought it to my supervisor, who in turn told me it was a hoax. He said that they received the same request every year and to drop it. I did, and the next year I came across another request from Ito…"

She picked up a file from the top of her stack and opened it in her hand while she walked over to him. She pulled out one sheet of paper, "This time I had worked with other cases, one of which made a reference to a contract between Suna and smaller farm villages that stated in exchange for half the price of rice, or whatever they harvested, we would provide them with protection." She leaned forward and set the paper before him. "We honored the request and among the villages on this contract is Ito…" She leaned in a little closer, pointing to the village's name on the paper and Gaara only glanced at it before returning his eyes to her. "I again brought it to my supervisor and he stated there was no evidence to support that the request was legitimate. He stated that it was practically the exact same request every year and that surely if it was a serious problem they would have done something more than a written request. I spent the next year looking over every file I could find concerning Ito." She laid the file flat on the table and began to flip through the pages. "Including the all of the requests that date back thirteen years now, the original folk lore concerning the God, all missions in the surrounding area, and I even found a file from over sixty years ago concerning the folk lore. The first incident if you will. The legend is far older than that but sixty-one years ago there was a young couple torn limb from limb in the middle of the night and a sack of rice missing from their stores… The death was described as "rough, careless gashes" and in the surrounding areas similar deaths were recorded, all after sunset and only some reported theft. The attacks stopped directly following this man's arrest two years later." She finally pulled forth a few pictures and another sheet of paper.

"This man was caught but he took three Suna ninja's with him leaving…" she paused again as she pushed forward the pictures. "We'll he didn't leave much, but it matches the types of wounds reported in the area. It was soon after this man's arrest that the contract was forged; some believing it was him and others again leaving it to legend. The incident faded with time though until thirteen years ago there was another death in Ito. Last year we had a change of head to our department and before we even got another request I brought it to him again. Stating that we should go ahead of time and that we were neglecting our duty and he said the same as my supervisor's and the last head of Missions Assignment. _There's no evidence. Perhaps if we had some pictures but it's suspicious to get the same request over and over._ So I asked wrote to Ito and asked for detailed reports of the damage and pictures if they had any. They provided me with this…!" She pushed the open file to him a little aggressively. "They mentioned that they weren't sure it was appropriate to share such gruesome images and that they tried to keep things contained for the most part. Have people stay inside after dark even if there was no God something was wrong. Most of the incidents there wasn't any death, but the wounds on these victims are entirely different than the legend which states it is a God or beast and the criminal who used a rusted katana and harvest hook. These are made by well sharpened weapons-"

"So they could have been staged," he pointed out first. "There are no hesitation marks."

"Exactly, if you're going to slice up your neighbor you're going to be nervous about it. Also, look at where they cut…" She moved a little closer and again leaned over the pictures, pointing to the gruesome array of photographs. "This person, whoever it is, is an experienced shinobi. A normal person couldn't move at that speed with that much accuracy. They're just barely avoiding blows that are fatal. It's nothing more than a ploy to get their rice. They steal more every year and there has been an uptake on rice in the black market. Our undercover unit has reported almost the exact amount that has been stolen from Ito turning up in the sales." She pulled another sheet of paper from the bottom of the pile and Gaara watched the fierceness in her expression.

Admittedly Gaara was impressed with what she had provided. He had realized just by glancing at the file that she had gone far beyond what was needed but this was more than even he had expected. She had reached into every department, made attempts to merge all of the information for not just this case but several. If everyone worked cases this way there would be probably half as much trouble in the field.

"Have you created a profile?" He asked leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms as he spoke with the same monotone voice.

She again didn't hesitate to make eye contact as she pulled out another sheet of paper. She held it out to him as she answered, "Yes. I think it's someone from Suna who had access to this case, probably someone who's older and knew of the first incident and is now retired. I would even bet he came from either Mission's Assignment or Records and Research. He attacks only people who are alone after dark and moves with speed and insane accuracy, but he never fights them. He also doesn't expect us to intervene. I think we should go in quietly, as travelers perhaps, and take him down with a little bait."

"Harvest is next month." He pointed out next, taking the paper and scanning over the details as she stated the main points. She was entirely correct. She had every detail down to a science, no to this a word.

She nodded again, "I know. They have already sent their request."

He glanced up and again intently studied her. "Three weeks ago?"

Her face flushed slightly, but she kept eye contact. "Yes. My supervisor refused to see me this time."

He was quiet for a moment, "Why this case?" He asked finally.

"This is how every case should be treated." She spoke firmly with no hesitation.

He made no move, "Why did it take you so long to bring it up?"

She tensed at this, "I brought it to-"

"No, why did it take you so long to bring it up to me?" Gaara asked pointedly with his arms crossed over his chest and his empty eyes focused on her.

Kaoru blinked, her lips parted slightly as she absorbed the question. "I.." She looked away for a moment, down at the open file and the scattered pictures. "Most people find what I do unimportant. To those who actually go on mission this is nothing but a sheet of paper and I'm just supposed to read and say _yes_ or _no_… But this is the closest I ever get to these people. To me they're very alive and the only thing I can do is read and try and determine what can be done to help them or even if they need help at all. I guess I was afraid that you would just see them as words instead of taking the time to see what I see."

Gaara watched the faraway look on her face, something almost sad in her expression and almost angry. "I was afraid of being ignored again, or just told no, when all I'm trying to do is my job. These people keep asking for our help and they're entitled to it and even though they've been ignored they continue to kindly ask us every year. They deserve our help." As she spoke Gaara could more clearly see the frustration pouring from her at the way the people of Ito and she herself continued to be ignored and even put down.

"No matter the outcome of this meeting your findings are correct and this will be taken care of." Gaara stated as he leaned forward in his seat and began to put the file back in order.

A smiled pulled at Kaoru's lips as he held out the file to her and she bowed as she took it from him. "Thank you Gaara-sama."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey you guys, I apologize for my long absence... but there have been some major issues in my life sense I Christmas. A few days before Christmas I got a call from my mom telling me that my brother had attempted suicide. Those of you who know me know that I went through a period of my life where I myself wanted to and tried several times to kill myself. I love who I am now but back then I felt trapped by my parents and hated by my mother. I have been attempting to negotiate with my Dad, but he's been blinded by my mom and thinks that my brother and I's feelings are unrelated. My brother has expressed to me how he feels about our mom and the issues that he's been having and it has been a lot to work through. It's like seeing a boy version of my self walk through the same hurt that I did and it's caused a lot of unhappy memories to surface. Then on January12th my dearest friend passed away suddenly. Having lost two different jobs (I quit one because my supervisor was dealing drugs out of our parking lot, and got let go because I asked to keep my tips) I didn't have enough to fly out for the funeral and upon asking my parents who were also close to my friend they refused. This brought up a whole new set of arguments as well as a grieving process. I know my friend would not want me to be this depressed but I have really struggled to come to terms with her unexpected passing and the issues I have been having with my parents. As a result I haven't had the passion or desire to write at all in the last few months. With that I would like to apologize to everyone and I hope that you guys will continue to read my stories. I am very thankful for all your reviews and I do accept requests if you have any. Thank you for your patience with me and enjoy the chapter 3

Just to let you all know I have written something for story as well as started up a Yamato story, done a Kankuro one-shot, and a possible two-shot for Shino... Hopefully you all will like them and hope it makes up for my absence in some way.

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Gaara kept his eyes on Kaoru the entire meeting. To his surprise she moved with complete confidence, and spoke with clear determination. He didn't pay much attention to the actual information seeing as she had already explained the majority of it, therefore he was able to think about more important things.

Kaoru was definitely doing something right. The way she did her job was massively different to the way her department was run, and her way was better. She was better suited to design a new system for the department than he was. Gaara had mistakenly been given charge to not only her department but the entire division and though he knew it meant he was gaining trust among the city elders he admittedly didn't know what to do with it all. He had no previous experience so he mostly just let the department heads run themselves.

However he was quickly finding they were incompetent and Kaoru was just further proof of that. She was what the system should be. He glanced around the table and knew that though they could be convinced of this case she had taken a few years to collect all this information. Gaara wouldn't be able to convince them unless he had more examples. He would also need to make sure Kaoru's work was validated and that she could work in the field, otherwise she would again be dismissed.

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat as he thought; still closely watching Kaoru. For some reason he was captivated by the way she moved, the way her lips formed words, the way her fingers nervously tucked away hair, and the way her red eyes would briefly catch his and the faint smiled that would cross her lips at the visual contact.

Gaara made a mental note that eye contact received a smile as well.

Her presentation came to a close and it was unanimous that the mission should be accepted and dealt with as soon as possible. Gaara sat back up and spoke at this point. "Temari's team would be best suited, her status will be well received and they have the correct skill set. I suggest you go on the mission as well Kaoru-san. You'll ship out in the morning."

Kaoru froze for a moment with her shoulders tense as her wide red eyes watched him. "Me?" She questioned. Something akin to fear flashed through her eyes.

"You will be able to provide completely accurate assessments in the field and would be the best to brief them for the mission as well. Your knowledge will be our advantage…" He spoke in his typical uninterested and aggressive tone with his eyes locked on hers.

She was still for a moment longer but soon smiled brightly. "I'll do my best, Gaara-sama." She bowed slightly, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Gaara sat in his office, watching the sun set as he normally did. The sky was a bright orange and a deep red that silhouetted the Suna skyline. His mind wondered slightly, focusing on the color red. Previously the color had been nothing but blood to him. A reminder of his past and motivation to move forward. To become more like Naruto.

Now though he found his mind pulled in another direction. He saw Kaoru's smiling face. There was something easy about it. Normally when people smiled around him it was practiced or awkward. With Kaoru it seemed natural, like it had just slipped into existence over her lips. He almost didn't know what to do with it.

Even Naruto's smile wasn't like that. His smile something permanent, like he was constantly waiting to burst into laughter. Gaara also knew that it was practiced as well. Naruto had to smile. That was how Naruto dealt with things.

Kaoru's smile was a moment, something gracefully flippant. He again thought over the things that had made her smile: eye contact, helping her, asking questions, and getting things that were out of her reach. He was fairly certain that he could handle those objectives.

Kankuro rudely interrupted his train of thought, "Well? Gaara? Are you listening?"

Gaara frowned deeply and turned to his brother. "No." He responded simply.

Kankuro seemed a bit surprised by his honest answer, then frustrated before finally letting out a a heavy sigh. "I asked if that was all for today." He repeated.

Gaara thought for a moment before answering. "I want you to look into Kaoru for me."

Kankuro crinkled his face in distaste of the assignment. "Why would I look into a snot nose brat like her? Aren't we finished with her now that you've granted her request?"

Gaara's invisible eyebrows furrowed. He didn't like the sound of that. He wasn't finished with her. "No. I want to know why she is in missions at her age, as well as how well she does with her other work."

Kankuro scratched the back of his neck before moving his head side to side in hopes of relieving some of the tension from the days tedious work. He gave a heavy sigh before answering his brother. "I suppose it isn't the hardest job I'll have to do this week. Might even be considered a break. I'll let you know what I find out." With that Kankuro pulled his hood back up and left Gaara to his own devises, mumbling as he did so.

Gaara didn't really mind if Kankuro found his curiosity odd. He simply wanted to know.

"You could ask around yourself," Kankuro pointed out from the door way.

Gaara glanced at him almost in confusion. "No. I could not." He said back, turning back to the window.

Kankuro nearly grunted in frustration, "Fine. Do you want to go out for dinner?"

"No." Gaara answered.

"Of course not, fine then, I'll see you tomorrow." Kankuro waved over his shoulder as he left his brother's office.

Gaara was admittedly thankful for his brother's knew casual relationship with him. He was often annoyed but he attempted to make Gaara feel normal, and tried to encourage Gaara towards his dream. It was comforting to have him as a brother; even if he was easily annoyed.

Gaara leaned back slightly in his chair. Watching the red disappear into the horizon he was able to finally relax for the evening in silence. Without Kankuro around people never bothered to come into Gaara's office.

He idly wondered if Kauro would have the same fearlessness alone in his office. She didn't seem afraid when they were alone in the board room. Perhaps... Gaara pictured her a momentarily, her dark hair tucked behind her ears, a feather light laugh playing on her lips, and innocent red eyes watching him.

Not only was she not afraid... she had laughed. Leaned in close to him as she showed him the files. He remembered because no one had ever really gotten that close to him so... simply. As though it was nothing. As though he was normal. He had almost been afraid to move. Sitting totally still and watching her silently as she explained to him her case; frightened that moving might startle her. She was so close at one point that he had been able to catch her scent. It was soft, clean, and sweet smelling. Not overwhelming like some perfumes. It was enticing enough that he had felt the need to lean back in his seat, to pull himself away from her physically.

Did people normally get that close to one another? It seemed odd to him but he couldn't say he disliked it. Perhaps if they were alone again he would get the chance to be that close to her again. He had something of an itch to identify what exactly that scent was.

He quietly mused that perhaps it was simply her namesake. Kaoru; _fragrance_.


	4. Chapter 4

Kankuro spent the following day lurking around Kaoru's department. He mostly just found things to complain about while he was there, pointing out several menial problems and watching people scramble to fix them. He admittedly was being kind of an ass but to be fair it was a pain in his ass to have to find out more about this office drone's life.

He was able to find something though. There was a tall lanky young woman making what seemed to be rounds to the red eyed girl's desk. She would slyly walk past and every time she would get a little more angry at the empty chair behind it. Kankuro decided this person would be the most helpful person to ask about Kaoru considering she was the only one actually missing the girl.

After making one or two more complaints he casually made his way over to her desk in the corner and sat behind it. His eyes raked the neatly organized space before he started to open up the drawers. He might as well do something while he waited for the woman to return.

Kaoru's desktop was void of anything personal. There were no pictures or quirky trinkets there were just books, maps, folders, and several small boxes of organized index cards. Inside her desk were several very nice pens, paperclips, highlighters...

"Gods, this women has no life..." he grumbled as he pulled out another drawer. This one peaked his interest slightly. Heavy duty bandages, ointment, pain killers, bandage tape, foundation, a few fictional books, and an old slightly rumpled picture. A childish face with the same bright red eyes peered out at him from the photograph. It was her as a little girl held by a smiling young man. The picture look fairly normal, but something was off. The young Kaoru almost looked frightened despite her direct stare at the camera.

Kankuro studied the picture only a moment longer before putting it back where he found it and taking one of the books to occupy himself with. It was a mystery book with a used book store sticker still sticking to the back and a well worn spine. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk before opening it to the first page and beginning to read.

"What are you doing?" About seven pages into the book a quiet but clear voice tore him from the enticing opening chapter. He looked up to see the willowy women leaning over the desk. She was surprisingly pretty. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun and an out of place wisp of hair had fallen onto her cheek and was rather artfully framing her wide almond colored eyes. His eyes followed a downward trail over a pair of glasses hanging around her neck, a short sleeve fishnet covered by a white tank, and a pair of black cargo capri pants.

"Waiting for you." He replied simply.

The girl's cheeks actually flushed slightly. "Really, because it looks to me like you're reading."

He shrugged, "You were taking to long. I need to ask you a few questions about Shinzu Kaoru."

The girl blinked a few times as though she didn't know the name, but her eyes soon narrowed suspiciously. "Why?" She demanded simply.

"Because Gaara thinks she might be useful." He snapped back. He didn't like using his brother's name to get what he wanted but often it was the most efficient way to get people to cooperate.

The girl actually laughed. "Useful might be an understatement. She's the best in the department despite our bosses treating her like dirt..." She stood to full height and smiled at Kankuro. "So I take it that's where she is? Working on something for you guys? How did you find her?"

"She came to us." Kankuro replied. "Her superiors don't like her?"

"She's a threat."

Kankuro frowned. The calm red eyed office drone was a threat? "How so?"

"She does her job well and she knows when other people are cutting corners," the girl crossed her arms and shrugged slightly. "And she's not afraid to say something or even do something when people aren't doing their job the way they should. Did she come to you about Ito?" She asked.

Kankuro nodded.

"And you're doing something about it?"

Kankuro nodded again. "She's out on the mission now."

The young woman's eyes widened. "She's on a mission?"

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "Yes, she's a ninja isn't she?"

The woman hesitated. "Well, yes, but she's never been in the field. She was assigned straight out of the academy."

Kankuro's feet dropped off the desk, "What?" His voice came out something like a warning.

She frowned. "It's not her fault. She scored too high on her written tests. This department is always short and there isn't a huge crowd of people who actually want this job. We're all assigned here."

Kankuro frowned deeply. "You as well? So, no one here has been in the field?"

The young woman's eyes were distant for a moment. "Some of us have been. Personally I was injured, and as it turns out I'll never recover enough for field work."

Kankuro looked her up and down and she actually laughed. "It's not visible, just a few torn ligaments that are now severely prone to injury again. I'm a risk not worth taking." She gave him a slightly saucy smile and Kankuro grinned back.

"She's been training though?" He asked after biting back a more flirtatious comment.

The woman's brows knitted together, "Not that I know of."

Kankuro frowned now, "Then what are the bandages for?"

Her face hardened almost instantly. A trained poker face coming into play. "No idea, she's just one of those people that's always prepared I guess."

Kankuro studied her for a moment. He knew he wouldn't get anything else out of her, the look on her face told him she was well trained and would know how to hold out under even the most severe of interrogations. Something told him that her injuries could have been the result of torture.

"What's your name?" He asked switching the subject.

Her face softened, "Yuki." She answered simply.

"Your full name?" He asked.

She grinned. "It'd be too easy for you to find me if I gave you my full name." She winked before spinning around on one foot and leaving without another word.

Kankuro chuckled lightly. At least he had met someone interesting today.

* * *

"Yo," Kankuro's lazy voice broke the silence in Gaara's office. His brother was leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

Gaara simply nodded in acknowledgment and Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Shesh, you could at least say something back."

Gaara thought for a moment before responding. "Did you get the information I asked you for?"

Kankuro sighed heavily before standing up fully. "Yeah," he said as he sat in one of the chairs opposite Gaara's desk. He slumped down in the seat with both hands in his pockets, looking exceedingly bored out of his mind.

Gaara waited. "Well?" He finally asked.

Kankuro looked thoroughly annoyed. "Pointless. She's completely uninteresting. She never misses work, she's never late. She does almost twice the workload of the average drone. She's got nothing personal in her desk save some books and one picture. She was assigned to Mission Assignment right out of school so she's never been in the field..." Kankuro paused here.

Gaara waited again, eyes intensely trained on his brother.

Kankuro gave a huff of frustration. "Honestly there's nothing. She's smart, good at her job, and there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about her."

"Nothing?" Gaara repeated as a question sensing something that his brother wasn't saying.  
Kankuro squirmed slightly. "Nothing concrete." He responded carefully.

Gaara again waited in silence.

Kankuro threw his head back and gave a loud frustrated grunt. "The picture was a little weird and it was crumpled up in her bottom drawer with a shit ton of bandages."

Gaara furrowed his nonexistent brows. "It is not odd for a ninja to have bandages."

"She doesn't go on missions and she doesn't train. What could she need them for?" Kankuro responded.

Gaara was quiet for a moment, "How do you know she doesn't train?"

"I asked a friend of hers." Kankuro said with a lazy shrug.

There was again silence. Gaara couldn't help but remember her slightly frightened expression as he told Kaoru would be going on the mission. "So I sent an unskilled ninja into the field to catch an experienced terrorist?" Gaara glanced back to his brother as he awaited a reply.

Kankuro frowned slightly. "The rest of the team should be able to handle it. At least Temari's there."

Both young men now sat in silence, neither one of them mentioning the danger the red eyed ninja could be in.


End file.
